Today, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report documenting major disruption at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and a sharp rise in the dismissal of discrimination complaints in schools, including those involving students with disabilities.

From March through September 2025, OCR received more than 9,000 discrimination complaints, and roughly 90% of the resolved cases were closed through dismissal. GAO also found that 247 OCR staff were placed on paid administrative leave starting March 21 and were not allowed to work for nearly nine months, a decision GAO estimates cost taxpayers up to $38 million.

For students with disabilities and their families, this translates into fewer answers, fewer opportunities, and fewer safeguards when schools fail to follow the law.

What GAO Found

The federal system that enforces students’ civil rights is breaking down in plain sight. Families are filing complaints, but far fewer get a real review, and schools get less clarity about what the law requires.

• Most resolved cases ended without review. GAO reports OCR received 9,269 complaints from March through September 2025 and resolved 7,072. Of those resolved, 6,353 were dismissed, roughly 90%.
• Taxpayers paid for investigators who were barred from doing their jobs. GAO estimates the cost of paying OCR staff who were placed on administrative leave while not allowed to work was $28.5 million to $38 million from March 21 through mid-December 2025.
• Transparency dropped as disruption increased. GAO describes reduced public visibility into OCR’s workload and outcomes during this period.

A Disability Rights Perspective

“GAO shows OCR, the federal office families rely on when schools violate students’ civil rights, thrown into turmoil as complaints pile up and outcomes disappear from public view,” said Katy Neas, CEO of The Arc of the United States. “Families have a right to turn to OCR when a child is denied accommodations, pushed out of class, harassed, or disciplined unfairly because of disability. When those complaints aren’t addressed, schools lose clear direction, families lose answers, and students live with the consequences for years. Rights are only meaningful when enforcement exists.”

What This Means for Students with Disabilities and Families

When OCR can’t consistently review complaints, disability rights become harder to enforce in real life, including:

• Accommodations and accessibility: support under IDEA and Section 504, accessible materials and technology, and physical access to buildings and programs
• Harassment and hostile environments: bullying and disability-based harassment that schools fail to stop
• Discipline and exclusion: suspensions, removals, or unequal discipline tied to disability, and students being pushed out of learning time
• Services that shape adulthood: delays or denials of supports that affect graduation, employment pathways, and independence

Families often turn to OCR when local processes fail, when schools don’t follow the law, or when a student pays the price for repeated failures. GAO’s findings describe a system where many of those families are left without a meaningful federal backstop.

What This Means for Schools and Educators

OCR enforcement creates accountability and clearer expectations.

• When enforcement is inconsistent, schools lose clear, reliable direction about what compliance looks like.
• Disputes last longer and are more likely to escalate into conflict, due process, or litigation.
• Students lose time they can’t get back, and that lost time can change their future.

How OCR Enforcement is Supposed to Work

• A federal process that can be faster and less expensive than court
• Outcomes that can be legally binding
• A pathway that can help families resolve issues without years of litigation

What Should Happen Next

Disability advocates are urging immediate steps:

• Stabilize staffing and operations so complaints can be reviewed on the merits.
• Restore transparency so families and schools can see what is being processed and how.
• Communicate clearly to families about timelines, options, and what happens when OCR dismisses a complaint.